Athletic Bilbao president has moved to quash rumours of £47m Newcastle target moving this summer

Newcastle United aren't the only club faced with the prospect of selling stars to balance the books this summer.

As the Magpies look at potentially letting hot prospect Yankuba Miniteh leave the club before he's played a single minute of football, clubs all over the world are facing up to rumours around their top stars being moved on for financial reasons rather than footballing reasons.

Newcastle are looking to capitalise on one club's position in that regard, with Athletic Bilbao reportedly needing to sell their star man Nico Williams this summer to raise funds.

Right-winger Nico Williams is currently with Spain at Euro 2024 and if it weren't for his £47million release clause he'd be seeing his value rising after every game.

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Bilbao president has denied that the club need to sell Williams

That release clause is potentially a huge worry for Bilbao president Jon Uriarte as he has insisted that the club's finances are fine and Williams does not need to be sold according to quotes related by Newcastle World.

“We have impressive talent in the squad. When things are like this, it’s normal that there are players who arouse interest, but we’re not here to talk about rumours.

“Nico is happy in Bilbao and at Athletic and we’re very happy with Nico. We don’t worry about or pay attention to rumours. We’re focused on creating an attractive project for all our players, fighting for titles and competing in Europe.

“The club has room for economic manoeuvre to sign players. We had to be able to ensure that the investment did not penalise the expenses. We had to balance the accounts and boost the income. That has been our way of acting. At the club, we are always aware of what is on the market and identify opportunities.”

Barcelona will likely be Willams' next destination

Williams himself has stated that he is happy and focused on Bilbao too, however, there are also rumours suggesting that Barcelona are interested in activating his release clause and Williams would find that very hard to turn down.

Indeed, it has been speculated that only the Catalan giants could goad Williams into a move this summer which leaves Newcastle with a cliff face to climb rather than an uphill battle.

If Willams' release clause is only £47million and he does move this summer then someone, probably Barca, is getting the steal of the summer for sure.